China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) has announced the completion of construction of the first factory-scale research project to produce hydrogen from seawater in Qingdao city, eastern Shandong province.

According to Xinhua, the company said the project combines direct electrolysis of seawater and hydrogen production using green electricity, with a production capacity of 20 cubic metres of green hydrogen per hour.

The project uses green electricity generated by the company’s marine photovoltaic power plant, where seawater is split into hydrogen and oxygen by a special electrolyzer, and the hydrogen produced is integrated into the company’s pipeline network.

Produced using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, green hydrogen is a sustainable solution that does not emit greenhouse gases during the production process.